Why You Don’t Need to Know It All to Succeed as a Data Analyst

Trust me, you can do this.

When I started my data analytics journey in 2022, I was more determined than ever to make this change happen. All the years of doing low-paying, thankless jobs had led me to the point that I had to do what was best for me and for my future.

As I was learning the technical tools, I found concepts like SQL, Tableau, and Power BI pretty straightforward. Yes, there were some learning curves, but I felt most of it made logical sense. But then I realized something: Do I know enough to land a data analyst role?

This is one of, if not the most common questions I get asked. You spend all the time taking courses, doing projects, and creating an amazing portfolio, but what if you don’t know as much as you should? These thoughts were going through my head constantly, especially when I was reading job descriptions and conducting technical interviews.

I am here to tell you this: You don’t need to know it all to succeed as a data analyst.

Data Analyst’s aren’t the same in every company/team

The title of a data analyst can vary immensely from company to company. Some use it as an entry/mid-level role, some use it as a combination of a data engineer, scientist, and more. This can make it a bit difficult to realize what skills are truly needed to land a job.

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Don’t skip over Excel

Well, let’s look at something a ton of people overlook: Excel.

If you follow me, you know I love Excel. It’s opened so many doors for me and is the foundation for data analytics. A ton of entry-level roles require it, so even if Excel is where you are the most comfortable, I promise you there is something out there for you. Excel is the most popular data tool for a reason and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

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SQL will take you very far in your career

Next up, we look at SQL. I personally believe SQL is THE most important technical tool in your journey. Lots of companies rely on analysts to retrieve and manipulate data from their databases. Most, if not all of your interviews, will involve some kind of SQL technical assessment.

Here’s the thing though; you don’t need to be a SQL expert. You need to know ENOUGH to get past the interview stage. Concepts like ordering, grouping, joining, and possibly window functions/subqueries will come up in your interviews. They are mainly trying to see how you think and go about the problems. Companies know you’ll have access to external sources to help you with code; they just want to make sure you know enough and have room to grow.

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Let’s not forget the other essentials

Other tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Python are important too. However, I’ve found Excel and SQL to be the two most important tools for the interview stages. At the end of the day, the goal is to just be good enough to get past the technical interviews and really sell yourself in the behavioral rounds. Your technical knowledge will go through the roof once you get on the job and actually do data analysis in your full-time role.

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Take this from me: I was decent in Excel, okay with SQL, and didn’t really know Python. Even to this day, my Excel skills are far superior to my other skills, and I am in a decent six-figure senior analyst role. I am not saying this to show off—I am just showing how not all analysts are the same and you don’t need to be perfect to get far.

It’s all about finding the right role, the right opportunity, and the right people. Don’t spend countless hours studying; spend that time networking and figuring out ways on how you can land a job using your personal skills.

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DataFrenchy News

• We’ve recently announced our February free live classes! You can check them out here.

• Last week, we added over 200 data roles to our Job Board! We also welcomed 9 new community members to our Exclusive Jobs community, where the best roles get posted and more. You can learn more about the Job Boards here.

• Our next course, Intro to Tableau, is scheduled for release in a couple of weeks! We try to add a new course every few weeks. Be on the lookout for more info.

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